Introduction Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), also known as short-headed rope dancer, are small marsupials(where young are carried in emales pouches) native to Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia. They are found in forests and are active at night time. These small creatures only weigh 100g-160g and they are 16-21cm in length. They have grey fur on the back and white creamy belly fur accompanied by a long bushy tail. Their attractive appearance made themselves popular amongst human as pets in the past twenty years, especially in United States.
Sugar glider’s name came from the animal’s sugary diet and their ability to travel by gliding. Whereas it’s Latin name, Petaurus breviceps, means a short head rope dancer. It is believed that these small possum have lived since 1.6 million years ago, that is from the Pleistocene period to present. Without their well developed adaptations, such as big eyes for night vision, these animals would have extinct. The following report will provide detailed information of sugar gliders including their habitat, structure, appearance and most importantly their adaptations. Scientific Classifcation
Labelled Diagram Of The Sugar Glider
The body of a sugar glider ranges from 16 to 21 cm.
Habitat s shown in figure 2, Sugar Gliders are small possums that are native to countries in the southern hemisphere, namely Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Eastern and Northern parts of Australia. They are later introduced to Tasmania and became popular in The United States as pets.
Sugar gliders are found in areas with varied seasonal temperatures, however they favor the warm climate since their body temperature is around 35 Celsius. Their habitat also consists of forests and woodlands of all types, especially those with eucalypt trees providing honey saps and open forests where there are spaces for these flying creatures to glide freely.
The habitat of Sugar gliders is also naturally linked to their food source namely insects and plants. Therefore, the area they live in are filled with trees and plants providing bugs, vertebrate and honey sap for the gliders to consume. Like human beings, having access to water is essential for the sugar gliders to survive. For this reason, they are commonly found near fresh water source such as rivers, streams, and ponds as well. Water is used for drinking and cooling. Similar to European Rabbits, sugar gliders are nocturnal, meaning that they are active at night and they rest during the day. They spend most of their time on tree, no matter when they’re resting or hunting. Hunting takes place at night time where they prey on insects and small vertebrates. Also, like Grizzly Bear, sugar gliders are omnivores, they feed on fruits, leaves and sweet saps from trees. Whereas during day time, they can be found in tree hollows where they rest in their nest lined with leaves. There can be up to 7 adults with their current young in one nest.
Adaptations
Structural adaptation 1: Gliding Membrane (Patagium) One of the most remarkable structural adaptations of Sugar Gliders is perhaps their gliding membrane, called the patagium, which extends from their wrist to their ankle. When Sugar Gliders is at rest its fold skin is crumbled along the side of the animal creating a wavy line. Whereas when the furred membrane is in use, the fold skin is transformed into a rectangular shape which acts as a parachute enabling these small possums to glide from tree to tree. It is recorded that they can glide up to 150 feet! Lack of food may be one of the environmental pressures that led to this adaptation, as this adaptation made traveling and collecting food much more convenient for sugar gliders. Another environmental pressure is the increasing number of predator on ground. Being able to glide and stay in high areas eliminates some predators of sugar gliders.
Structural Adaptation 2: Sharp Teeth The sharp teeth of sugar gliders is another important structural adaptation that helped the animal to survive. There are a total of 40 teeth in a glider including incisors, molars and premolars. Unlike many other animals, the teeth of sugar gliders do not grow and cannot be replaced. Incisors play a major role in this structural adaptation. These small animals have two sharp lower incisors that are relatively big and are outward pointing. These incisors aid the glider in collecting food. They are used for chewing holes in bark of trees and this enables the glider to consume honey sap as well as hidden insects in trees. The high metabolism accounts of sugar glider is perhaps one of the environmental pressures which led to this adaptation, since a sweet and sugary diet is required to maintain the glider’s metabolism rate. The sharp teeth of these gliders are the key and tool to a sugary diet as it assists them in consuming honey saps.
Behavioral Adaptation 1: Semi-hibernate A useful behavioral adaptation of the sugar gliders is that they can semi-hibernate like eel. This is a unique adaptation, since most animal hibernate for a long time or does not hibernate at all. Whereas these small gliders can go through semi-hibernation for no longer than 16 hours per day and they only hibernate when necessary. It aids them in conserving energy during extreme cold weather or when there is a lack of food. An environmental pressure leading to this adaptation may be due to the global warming which has caused climate change and therefore extreme cold periods occur more frequently. The cold weather kills animal as well as plants, limiting the food resources of sugar gliders. Therefore the ability to semi-hibernate is very important since it enhances the survival rate of sugar gliders.
Behavioral Adaptation 2: Nocturnal As mentioned above, sugar gliders are nocturnal. This behavioral adaptation of theirs allow them disguise themselves in the dark, making it more difficult for predators like owls and kookaburras to see them. Being nocturnal, also, mean that sugar gliders can collect food more easily, because their prey would be asleep and they can avoid competition for resources from other animals. This adaptation enables sugar gliders to escape from the heat during hot weather as well, since it is cooler at the night. In addition, they don’t need to consume water as much in the cool atmosphere. There are a several environmental pressure leading to the development of this adaptation, including the increasing number of predators during day time, the heat due to global warming and the big competition for resources. Overall, being nocturnal is a significant adaptation of the sugar gliders.
Physiological adaptations: Scent gland Sugar gliders have three scent glands in total. One in the middle of their forehead, one in their anal and one in the middle of their chest. Each of them has their own distinctive scent, the odor is not very strong, in fact it is quite faint through human’s nose. The male uses the scent gland on their forehead and chest to mark his territory and his mates. Possible environmental issues leading to the development of this adaptation is that place is shared unevenly and their mates are being stolen by other male. To prevent this from happening they have developed this adaptation. Overall we can see the importance of having scent glands.
Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), also known as short-headed rope dancer, are small marsupials(where young are carried in emales pouches) native to Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia. They are found in forests and are active at night time. These small creatures only weigh 100g-160g and they are 16-21cm in length. They have grey fur on the back and white creamy belly fur accompanied by a long bushy tail. Their attractive appearance made themselves popular amongst human as pets in the past twenty years, especially in United States.
Sugar glider’s name came from the animal’s sugary diet and their ability to travel by gliding. Whereas it’s Latin name, Petaurus breviceps, means a short head rope dancer. It is believed that these small possum have lived since 1.6 million years ago, that is from the Pleistocene period to present. Without their well developed adaptations, such as big eyes for night vision, these animals would have extinct. The following report will provide detailed information of sugar gliders including their habitat, structure, appearance and most importantly their adaptations.
Scientific Classifcation
Labelled Diagram Of The Sugar Glider
The body of a sugar glider ranges from 16 to 21 cm.
source (image only):
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/marsupial/Sugarglider.shtml
Habitat
s shown in figure 2, Sugar Gliders are small possums that are native to countries in the southern hemisphere, namely Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Eastern and Northern parts of Australia. They are later introduced to Tasmania and became popular in The United States as pets.
Sugar gliders are found in areas with varied seasonal temperatures, however they favor the warm climate since their body temperature is around 35 Celsius. Their habitat also consists of forests and woodlands of all types, especially those with eucalypt trees providing honey saps and open forests where there are spaces for these flying creatures to glide freely.
The habitat of Sugar gliders is also naturally linked to their food source namely insects and plants. Therefore, the area they live in are filled with trees and plants providing bugs, vertebrate and honey sap for the gliders to consume. Like human beings, having access to water is essential for the sugar gliders to survive. For this reason, they are commonly found near fresh water source such as rivers, streams, and ponds as well. Water is used for drinking and cooling.
Similar to European Rabbits, sugar gliders are nocturnal, meaning that they are active at night and they rest during the day. They spend most of their time on tree, no matter when they’re resting or hunting. Hunting takes place at night time where they prey on insects and small vertebrates. Also, like Grizzly Bear, sugar gliders are omnivores, they feed on fruits, leaves and sweet saps from trees. Whereas during day time, they can be found in tree hollows where they rest in their nest lined with leaves. There can be up to 7 adults with their current young in one nest.
Adaptations
Structural adaptation 1: Gliding Membrane (Patagium)
Structural Adaptation 2: Sharp Teeth
The sharp teeth of sugar gliders is another important structural adaptation that helped the animal to survive. There are a total of 40 teeth in a glider including incisors, molars and premolars. Unlike many other animals, the teeth of sugar gliders do not grow and cannot be replaced. Incisors play a major role in this structural adaptation. These small animals have two sharp lower incisors that are relatively big and are outward pointing. These incisors aid the glider in collecting food. They are used for chewing holes in bark of trees and this enables the glider to consume honey sap as well as hidden insects in trees. The high metabolism accounts of sugar glider is perhaps one of the environmental pressures which led to this adaptation, since a sweet and sugary diet is required to maintain the glider’s metabolism rate. The sharp teeth of these gliders are the key and tool to a sugary diet as it assists them in consuming honey saps.
Behavioral Adaptation 1: Semi-hibernate
Behavioral Adaptation 2: Nocturnal
Physiological adaptations: Scent gland
Sugar gliders have three scent glands in total. One in the middle of their forehead, one in their anal and one in the middle of their chest. Each of them has their own distinctive scent, the odor is not very strong, in fact it is quite faint through human’s nose. The male uses the scent gland on their forehead and chest to mark his territory and his mates. Possible environmental issues leading to the development of this adaptation is that place is shared unevenly and their mates are being stolen by other male. To prevent this from happening they have developed this adaptation. Overall we can see the importance of having scent glands.
Scent (n.d), retrieved 20th of July. from: http://www.sugarglider.com/archives/ruth/scent.html
Sugarglider.com (2010.) where to start? retrieved 25th of July. from: http://www.sugarglider.com/